Pipistrellus raceyi
Pipistrellus raceyi is a bat species of the genus of Pipistrelle bats ( Pipistrellus ) and is endemic to Madagascar. It was first described scientifically and named in 2006. The native to Asia pipistrelle Pipistrellus species endoI, Pipistrellus Pipistrellus abramus Paterculus and are closely related to Pipistrellus raceyi, the ancestors of the species therefore probably came from Asia. The main distinguishing features between these types exist in the structure of the hands, the skull and the male reproductive system.
Pipistrellus raceyi was detected in Madagascar at four locations, two of which are in the east and two in the western lowlands. In the east it was found in predominantly agricultural areas, while it occurs in dry forest areas in the west. Due to insufficient data on the lifestyle and the stock size and the types of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) is listed as "Data Deficient " without hazard classification.
Features
General features
Pipistrellus raceyi is a small to medium-sized dwarf bat. The long coat is reddish brown on the upper side, the head is slightly darker. The underside is yellowish brown. The swollen glands on the snout near the nose are hairless. The dark, short and rounded ears have three to five folds. The crescent-shaped tragus is about half as long as the ear and has a slight narrowing at the rear of the base on.
The wings are dark colored. The third to fifth metacarpals are of approximately equal length, while the first finger bone of the third finger is short - in contrast to Pipistrellus endoI, wherein the bone is longer. Pipistrellus raceyi has short shins and small feet and the tail is shorter than the head and body of the animal. The forearm length is 28 to 31.2 mm, tail length from 22.9 to 30.3 millimeters. The foot length is 5.3 to 7.5 millimeters and the ear length 7.5 to 10.6 mm at 13 surveyed individuals. The females are slightly larger than males.
Genital features
The males have a long, straight penis with a node between the penile shaft and the narrow, egg-shaped glans penis. It has a length from 9.6 to 11.8 millimeters, the penis bone ( Baculum ) reaches a length of 8.8 to 10.0 millimeters. Near the end of the penis is hairy, while the base is hairless. The shaft of the penis bone is long, narrow and slightly curved. Due to the length of the penis and the penis bone differs Pipistrellus raceyi of all Myotis bats of similar size in Africa and Madagascar. EndoI Pipistrellus, Pipistrellus Pipistrellus Paterculus and abramus have a similar penis bone, is bent more of Pipistrellus abramus in Pipistrellus Paterculus, the shaft and the tip and at the basal end Pipistrellus endoI thicker.
Skull and dental characteristics
The skull there is a well -defined, depressed area in the center of the front part of the muzzle, which almost touches the back edge of the large, V -shaped nostrils. Adjacent the opening, there are two raised areas on the incisors. The zygomatic arches are slim. The Überaugenwulst is well trained. Abramus Pipistrellus, Pipistrellus Pipistrellus Paterculus endoI and have a flatter snout and less prominent browridges. The skull has an average size and wearing a poorly trained sagittal crest. The occipital skull is convex. The sides of the concave palate are approximately parallel.
The type has two front teeth ( incisors ), a canine ( canine ), two Vorbackenzähne ( Praemolares ) and three molars ( Molar ) in a maxillary half and three incisors, one canine, two Vorbackenzähne and three molars in lower jaw. Overall, the animals have 34 teeth. Since the ancestors of the species have lost in the development of the first upper incisor, and each of the first and third Vorbackenzähne the original mammalian dentition, the incisors are as I2 and I3 (I stands for incisor ) and the Vorbackenzähne than P2 and P4 ( P stands for Praemolares ) referred. The upper I2 has a well-educated second tooth tip in addition to the main peak and I3 reaches approximately the height of these side tip. The short upper canine has only one peak. P2 is in the foreground and is easily displaced toward the inside of the row of teeth. P4 does not touch the canine. The first and second upper molar tooth (M1 and M2) are approximately equal, the third (M3) is smaller. Each of the lower incisor has three peaks, and the third (i3 ) can contact the lower canine (c1). It has a second peak which is higher than that of i3. The p2 is touching the back of the canine and has 59-100 % of the tooth surface of the second Vorbackenzahnes (p4). In the first two lower premolars ( M1 and M2), the rear group of the tooth tips ( talonid ) is larger than the front ( trigonid ), and M3 is smaller than the other two molars.
Distribution and habitat
Pipistrellus raceyi was detected in Madagascar at four locations, two of which are in the east and two in the west coast area. All Locations were in the plains below 80 meters in height.
A detection area to the east is Kianjavato, one surrounded by farmland and secondary forest rural community where Pipistrellus raceyi was caught leaving a cavity in a concrete wall of a house as well as in Japan a net over a river. The other location is in eastern Tampolo, it is located in a heavily agricultural area. The two western localities, Kirindy and Mikea are in the dry forest. In addition Kirindy the bat Hypsugo was detected anchietae. The actual area of distribution of Pipistrellus raceyi is likely to be greater than currently known.
Way of life
For the life and reproduction of this bat are very few data. About the diet is not known, as most other Myotis bats this species probably feeds on small flying insects, which they captured in flight.
The young are probably at the beginning of the rainy season, born in November and December, when food is abundant. Six individuals were trapped in their quarters in Kianjavato, of these only one was male. The describer concluded that the species is probably polygynous, forming groups of single male with several females.
Research history and systematics
The taxonomy of the small Myotis bats ( Vespertilionidae ) in Madagascar was unclear since the first proof in 1905. In the years Oldfield Thomas and his colleague Harold Schwann type Vespertilio matroka, classify the Paul Bates and his colleagues as Neoromicia matroka together with some other species in the genus Neoromicia described. Although in the following years, several species were recorded from the Common Pipistrelle, their status remained largely unknown, mainly due to the lack of preparations. A type with similarities to Southeast Asian species have Martin Goepfert and colleagues demonstrated in 1995 and assigned to the " pipistrellus group ". Reported in 2006 Paul Bates and his colleagues over a collection of 44 Malagasy Myotis bats that had received the Harrison Institute. These included several first proven in Madagascar bat species as well as a scientifically entirely unknown species of Pipistrelle bats. This species was described in 2006 as Pipistrellus raceyi.
The species name raceyi was chosen in honor of the bat researcher Paul Racey, the researchers gave the bat also the English common name " Racey 's pipistrelle bat" to German " Racey 's pipistrelle ". In a 2007 article mentioned Steven Goodman this species as part of a flock of newly described species of bats of Madagascar; the number of known species for Madagascar has increased from 27 in 1995 to 37 in 2007.
Pipistrellus raceyi similar to the Asian species Pipistrellus endoI, Pipistrellus Pipistrellus Paterculus and abramus. Bates and his colleagues hypothesized that it is closely related with them. If this proves to be correct, were the ancestors of Pipistrellus raceyi from Asia and not Africa as the majority of the remaining bat fauna of the island. Pipistrellus raceyi shares this feature with a few other Malagasy Fledertierarten such as the Madagascar flying fox ( Pteropus rufus ) and the two proved to Madagascar species of the genus Emballonura.
Threat and protection
Due to insufficient data about the lifestyle and stocks the kind of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) is listed as "Data Deficient " without hazard classification. All Locations are in the vicinity of forest areas where forest protection measures are implemented. This could also be coincidence, given the few individuals found. The loss of forest could pose a threat to the species.